Mining – IBON Foundationhttp://ibon.org
Serving the Filipino people through research and educationFri, 16 Feb 2018 07:29:53 +0000en-UShourly1COMP attempting to greenwash dirty mining practices — IBONhttp://ibon.org/2017/09/comp-attempting-to-greenwash-dirty-mining-practices-ibon/
http://ibon.org/2017/09/comp-attempting-to-greenwash-dirty-mining-practices-ibon/#respondThu, 07 Sep 2017 05:40:37 +0000http://ibon.org/?p=6436Research group IBON said that the plan of the Chamber of Mines of the Philippines (COMP) to adopt a Canadian mining organization’s sustainable mining measures indicates that it is trying to greenwash the Philippine mining industry’s negative image. But Canadian mining corporations are notorious for their dirty operations globally, IBON pointed out, which have led to several incidents of social and environmental devastation.
COMP recently announced that it will study and adopt the Mining Association of Canada (MAC)’s Towards Sustainable Mining (TSM) initiative. It will also form an oversight committee to investigate its member-companies accused of mining law violations. This comes after former Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) secretary Gina Lopez ordered the suspension of several mining operations based on findings of environmental destruction.
Under the TSM, MAC member-companies self-assess or self-regulate in key areas such as operations, biodiversity, indigenous people initiatives and crisis management to ensure socially, economically and environmentally responsible mining.
IBON said, however, that COMP is trying to greenwash or superficially implement corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives like TSM to clean up the Philippine mining industry’s worsening reputation. Mining companies in the Philippines will use this to avoid answering for their long records of environmental and social abuses, and to evade mandatory requirements and regulation. Industry watchdogs report that this has long been the practice of Canadian mining firms.
IBON noted that MAC member-companies have been lukewarm or outright opposed to government attempts to regulate and apply mandatory requirements on the Canadian mining industry. MAC participated in a multistakeholder roundtable that came up with recommendations to improve environmental practices and possibly impose sanctions, to which it reluctantly agreed. Some mining firms like Barrick Gold, a MAC member and controversial mine operator, successfully lobbied for the rejection of the recommendations.
IBON also observed that so-called sustainable mining measures like the TSM has done little to curb MAC member-companies’ dirty or environmentally and socially destructive mining practices. In 2014, Rio Tinto was accused of landgrabbing and environmental destruction from its majority-owned operations at a highly endangered coastal forest in Madagascar. The tailings dam of the Samarco mine, a joint-venture of BHP Billiton and Vale in Brazil, collapsed reportedly due to lax safety regulations. This resulted in 12 deaths, 11 missing, and 500 homeless people, and the killing of fish and aquatic life.
Some of the MAC member-companies like B2Gold and BHP Billiton are linked to mining operations in the Philippines, said the group. Meanwhile, Barrick Gold is the current owner of Placerdome, the mining company responsible for the Marcopper mining disaster, which destroyed the Boac River in Marinduque.
IBON said that the Duterte administration should not be fooled by COMP’s greenwashing maneuvers. It should stand firm on measures that genuinely protect the environment and public interest such as the suspension of destructive mining operations and ban on open-pit mining.###]]>http://ibon.org/2017/09/comp-attempting-to-greenwash-dirty-mining-practices-ibon/rss/0Earth Day 2017 | Four towns and an Apple: Mining and environmental plunderhttp://ibon.org/2017/04/earth-day-2017-four-towns-and-an-apple-mining-and-environmental-plunder/
http://ibon.org/2017/04/earth-day-2017-four-towns-and-an-apple-mining-and-environmental-plunder/#respondSat, 22 Apr 2017 02:16:41 +0000http://ibon.org/?p=6205

By Glenis Balangue
A day before Earth Day, technology giant Apple made a bold claim. Blamed time and again for its role in sustaining the highly destructive mining industry, Apple said it plans to stop using minerals and metals for its famed iPhones and Macs. In its 2017 Environmental Responsibility Report, Apple said that to stop mining the Earth, the firm is looking at just using recycled materials from its older products.
There’s only one problem. Apple admits it still does not know how to go about it. The statement is thus nothing more than a feel-good PR from a global firm that has a controversial supply chain – from blacklisted military-controlled mining sites in Myanmar to sweatshops in China – just in time for Earth Day.
While some global giants that profit from mining resort to publicity stunt, dealing with the awful ill effects to the people and environment of a massive industry that digs up lands and forests for precious minerals, and dumps toxic wastes, is an urgent issue for many local communities.
This is the story of mining communities researched by IBON in the towns of Sipalay in Negros Occidental, Sta. Cruz in Zambales, Macarthur in Leyte, and Kasibu in Nueva Vizcaya.
Forests, farmlands destroyedBarangay San Jose in Sipalay City in Negros Occidental has been dubbed as a mining town because it hosts one of the biggest mining operations, mainly copper, in the country since the 1950s. The barangay stands as a testament to the irreversible environmental damage that wanton mining brings. Hectares of productive farmlands were lost when these were turned into the mine tailings pond of the Maricalum Mining Corp. The firm had three tailings dam failures from1982-1996 that displaced more than a thousand farmers and fisherfolk. Some of them eventually came back and tried to eke out a living through swidden (kaingin) farming on the mountainside and charcoal making. Many also migrated to urban areas to find work as domestic help or as construction workers.
In Sta. Cruz, Zambales, some 20 hectares of farmlands in Barangay Lomboy were entirely covered in red mud from nickel mining operations at the height of Typhoon Labuyo in August 2013. Residents also reported that 30 more farm lots in other barangays were affected by siltation from mining operations in the mountains. But even during non-typhoon season, the rice fields are regularly covered with a layer of red silt. In Barangay Bolitoc, around 10 hectares of farms, fishponds and saltponds were converted into a stockpile of the mining companies.
Some 500 hectares of land planted with citrus trees in Barangay Didipio, Kasibu in Nueva Vizcaya were destroyed as Australian mining giant OceanaGold Philippines built its open pit gold mine. Farms suffer from lack of water for irrigation. More than 30 hectares of farmland are affected by the declining water level of the Surong-Camgat river system while around five hectares have totally dried up. Harvest has also gone down.
In Barangay Pongon in Macarthur, Leyte, Chinese firm Nicua Corporation mined some 70 hectares previously planted to rice, aside from another nine hectares in two other villages. Due to the loss of the nutrient-rich topsoil, waterlogging, as well as oil and fuel spills on the rice farms, affected crops did not grow well in the areas near the mining sites.
Aside from destroying farmlands, mining firms also denude forests to make way for their operations. In Sta. Cruz, for instance, the mountains are now bare from the timber cutting of mining companies. Bamboo thickets, a source of bamboo shoots sold for additional income or used for food, are covered in reddish mud. In Didipio as well as Sta. Cruz, mining companies are prohibiting the locals from gathering firewood, food, medicines, and other forest-based products from the forests within their concession areas.
Water resources poisoned
Meanwhile, bodies of water have compromised fishery-based livelihood and residents’ access to clean and safe water such as in Barangay San Jose in Sipalay. Residents there could no longer catch tilapia from streams near their farms and houses due to contamination that has already resulted in several cases of fishkill. Incidents of fishkills as a result of contamination from magnetite mining were also reported in Macarthur, Leyte. In Barangay Didipio, locals no longer catch any fish when they use to get 10 to 20 kilograms of fish everyday. Fishing used to provide extra income and food for these communities.
Communities blame mining operations for the changes in the bodies of water in their town. Those living near the riverbanks have observed that the river has become shallower due to heavy siltation from soil, which flows downstream especially during the rainy season. Those living in the coastal areas are not free from siltation either. Fisher folk who live along the coastline of Barangay Pagatpat in Sta. Cruz, for example, suffer from a thick layer of reddish mud that has settled in the coral reef. Heavy siltation destroys the areas where fish lay eggs and hatch.
People’s health harmedAside from water and soil pollution and contamination, air pollution is also a major concern for mining-affected communities. In Barangay San Jose, a high percentage of households reported upper respiratory illnesses or symptoms such as colds and coughs, which may have been aggravated by dust from the mining’s waste dump. This may also be the result of their livelihood, charcoal-making, which entails workers to work day and night while being exposed to soot, fumes and heat for several days.
In Sta. Cruz, Zambales, dust from the hauling trucks has also posed a big health problem to residents located close to the roads that mining companies use and those residing near the stockpiles. Those who live close to the road inhale dusts from the hauling trucks. People who wade or bathe in the silted rivers and streams experience rashes and itchiness.
Urgent reformsThese are some of the pressing environmental, economic and health issues that communities with large-scale mining operations face. The country does not have to wait for Apple to find a way on how to recycle for its iPhone to undertake urgent reforms that will protect the communities and will stop further damage from the mining of the country’s mineral resources.
President Duterte’s appointment of staunch anti-mining advocate Gina Lopez as Environment Secretary has been a positive development overall. But her efforts to ban destructive mining have been relentlessly countered by a strong pro-mining lobby, with apparent backing from Cabinet officials with ties to the controversial industry.
Despite this challenge, Duterte’s stated commitment to regulate mining, a strong Environment chief, plus an ongoing peace talks with revolutionary groups that include among others a deal, i.e. Comprehensive Agreement on Social and Economic Reforms (CASER) that intend to address a host of key social and economic issues including mining, all give an extraordinary opportunity to push for meaningful policy reforms.
The industry needs to be developed it within the framework of national industrialization and anchored on the principles of social justice, respect for people’s rights and welfare, environmental conservation and defense of national sovereignty and patrimony.
There is a necessity for the government to function as a genuine regulatory body for mining operations to protect the environment and to ensure proper compensation for damages. The government has a key role in drawing up a national industrialization program wherein mineral resources are processed in the country and become the raw materials for the building of strategic domestic industries such as steel and petrochemicals.
The prohibition of mining operations in critical areas such as small island ecosystem, coastal, primary forests and watersheds should also be ensured. Likewise, rules that govern the proper disposition of mine waste and its implementation should be included. There should be a practice of democratic consultation among the communities and stakeholders in all mining activities to be undertaken. ###]]>http://ibon.org/2017/04/earth-day-2017-four-towns-and-an-apple-mining-and-environmental-plunder/rss/0IBON hits big miners over threat of international arbitrationhttp://ibon.org/2017/03/ibon-hits-big-miners-over-threat-of-international-arbitration/
http://ibon.org/2017/03/ibon-hits-big-miners-over-threat-of-international-arbitration/#respondTue, 28 Mar 2017 06:37:34 +0000http://ibon.org/?p=6148
The COMP recently warned that affected mining companies could file arbitration cases should the government not honor mining contracts. It said that a number of these are foreign mining firms that have bilateral investment treaties (BITs) and they could sue the government for compensation. The DENR previously announced the cancellation of 75 mineral production sharing agreements (MPSAs), and plans to close 23 mines and suspend five others.
According to IBON, international arbitration is an instrument of investment liberalization, which corporations use to unhamper and secure their profit-seeking to the detriment of countries’ sovereignty in determining what is in the best interest of its people. The World Bank International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), for example, is known for siding with transnational corporations (TNCs) and strictly enforcing decisions that include expropriation of assets, said the group.
This mechanism is further institutionalized under free trade deals (FTAs), said IBON. Countries negotiating the Regional Cooperation Economic Partnership (RCEP), for instance, can be sued by investors whenever it is perceived that government policy, law or action harms present and future profits.
IBON’s recent mining study shows that extractive companies have a history of suing governments through international arbitration when their profits are compromised. For example, American oil company Occidental Petroleum Corporation cost Ecuador US$1 billion when the government expropriated Occidental’s assets after it illegally sold its rights to another company. Mining company Pacific Rim, a subsidiary of Australian miner OceanaGold since 2013, sued the government of El Salvador for US$301 million for denying the permit for the El Dorado mine due to environmental concerns.
IBON urged the Duterte government to stand firm on DENR’s order to protect the country’s remaining natural and mineral resources. The closure order will give a respite to the massive drain of mineral resources and the destruction of ecosystems. The group also stressed that government should revoke existing bilateral agreements that allow big local and foreign businesses to plunder the nation’s mineral wealth and that secure corporate interests mechanisms such as international arbitration.###]]>http://ibon.org/2017/03/ibon-hits-big-miners-over-threat-of-international-arbitration/rss/0Lumad schools under attack in mineral-rich Mindanaohttp://ibon.org/2017/03/lumad-schools-under-attack-in-mineral-rich-mindanao/
http://ibon.org/2017/03/lumad-schools-under-attack-in-mineral-rich-mindanao/#respondThu, 16 Mar 2017 19:28:54 +0000http://ibon.org/?p=6114
These Lumad schools, most of which are recognized by the Department of Education, have been under attack by State military and paramilitary troops known to secure big mining, logging, coal energy operations and corporate plantations. Thousands of teachers, students, and entire communities are victims of harassment, land grabbing, ransacking, encampment of public facilities, strafing, villification, arson, demolition, torture, forced evacuation and extra-judicial killings. (IBON Infographic in cooperation with Save Our Schools Network Mindanao)
]]>http://ibon.org/2017/03/lumad-schools-under-attack-in-mineral-rich-mindanao/rss/0Regions with biggest mining activities among the poorest–IBONhttp://ibon.org/2017/02/regions-with-biggest-mining-activities-among-the-poorest-ibon/
http://ibon.org/2017/02/regions-with-biggest-mining-activities-among-the-poorest-ibon/#commentsThu, 23 Feb 2017 06:18:57 +0000http://ibon.org/?p=6066Contrary to claims that closing down mining operations will worsen poverty, research group IBON said that large-scale mining activities impact heavily on marginalized sectors and intensify poverty. The group also said that the mining sector’s export-oriented character further deprives communities by taking away potential resources for local development.
The Employers’ Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) said that the crackdown on mining would lead to ‘expansive poverty’ and hurt economic growth. This was in response to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) head Regina Lopez’s recent orders to close and suspend some mining operations and cancel 75 mining contracts.
According to a study by IBON, however, mineral extraction and production often incur significant social and environmental costs which in fact fall disproportionately on the poor. In 2009, mining had the highest poverty incidence among industry groups at 48.71%. This was the highest poverty incidence since 1988, even surpassing the agriculture sector, which has historically topped poverty incidence across industries.
Among the biggest mining operations in the country are the Taganito Mining Corp in Surigao; Nickel Asia in Eastern Samar; Sagittarius Mines Incorporated in South Cotabato, Filminera Resources Corp. in Masbate and TVI Pacific Inc in Zamboanga del Sur. Yet, IBON noted that official 2015 poverty statistics show that regions hosting these mining activities are the poorest, next only to the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). Poverty incidence among individuals in Caraga (Region XIII) is the second highest in the country at 39.1 percent. The Eastern Visayas (Region VIII) posted the third highest poverty incidence at 38.7% followed by Soccsksargen (Region XII) at 37.3%, Bicol (Region V) at 36.0% and Zamboanga Peninsula (Region IX) at 33.9 percent.
Mining industry statistics also indicate that most of Philippine mineral production goes to exports, IBON observed. Total production value in mining in 2015, for instance, was at Php179.7 billion. Meanwhile, the amount of total exports of minerals and mineral products was at Php131 billion in the same year, or 73% of total production value. The exodus of minerals from the country leaves very little or nothing for local industry to benefit from. This means a lack of raw materials for potential industries such as steel, cement, rubber, paper, chemical and pharmaceutical.
IBON said that for allowing the extraction and export of most of the country’s mineral wealth while poverty remains stark in regions with mining activities, the Philippine Mining Act of 1995 should be repealed. The group said that government should not heed the mounting pro-big-business mining hype and instead focus on saving and utilizing what is left of the country’s resources to genuinely benefit the nation, especially the poorest regions.
]]>http://ibon.org/2017/02/regions-with-biggest-mining-activities-among-the-poorest-ibon/rss/1​Duterte admin should stick to mines closure–IBONhttp://ibon.org/2017/02/%e2%80%8bduterte-admin-should-stick-to-mines-closure-ibon/
http://ibon.org/2017/02/%e2%80%8bduterte-admin-should-stick-to-mines-closure-ibon/#respondThu, 16 Feb 2017 06:22:00 +0000http://ibon.org/?p=6062

Research group IBON said that despite strong opposition from mining companies, the Duterte government should stand firm on the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) head's order on mines closure. The group also belied mining companies' claims that large scale mining has brought development to the country.

President Duterte has expressed support for DENR secretary Gina Lopez' order to close down 23 mining firms and suspend five more due to grave violations against the environment. Ordered closed were Benguet Corp. Nickel Mines Inc., Ore Asia Mining and Development Corporation and Benguet Corporation and four other mining companies in Luzon, 10 in Vizayas and seven in Mindanao.

​Lopez has also ordered the cancellation of 75 mining contracts. ​

The Chamber of Mines of the Philipines (COMP), meanwhile, composed of the country's mining firms, has questioned the closure and warned of the massive jobs and revenue losses that it will entail. Finance secretary and Mining Industry Coordinating Council (MICC) co-chairperson Carlos Dominguez also cautioned that the DENR orders would cost affected local governments millions in foregone revenues.

IBON however refuted that large-scale mining has been beneficial to the economy. It said that for instance, while mineral exports hit a high US$3.4 billion in 2013, mining contributed a measly 0.7% to gross domestic product (GDP) in the same year. The sector's contribution grew to this level only from 0.5% after more than a decade of operations. The annual average share of mining revenues to total government revenues in 2009-2012 was only 1.18 percent, the group added. The contribution of the mining and quarrying sector to employment was also negligible at 0.7% of total employment.

IBON also noted the string of mining disasters since the enactment of the Philippine Mining Act in 1995. Aside from human deaths, large-scale mining has caused damaged dams, soil and water pollution due to excessive tailings, siltation, contamination and damage to agricultural lands, fish kill and other damages to marine life, buried or damaged houses in tailings and flash floods, isolated villages, dust fallout and air pollution, massive evacuation and various illnesses. Moreover, said the group, more than 90% of Philippine mineral production is exported for use by other countries' steel industries while the country has none. This, despite the Philippines being one of the world's top producers of gold, copper and nickel.

Government should uphold the mining ban, IBON said, and be wary of opposition coming from certain members of the cabinet involved in the mining sector, which could derail efforts to advance the people’s interests.

The closure and suspension orders is a positive step for the protection of the Philippine environment and towards ensuring that the country's natural resources benefit the Filipino people, the group added. Various groups are pushing for the resumption of the peace talks as these principles are represented in the negotiations’ social and economic reforms agenda. ​###

]]>http://ibon.org/2017/02/%e2%80%8bduterte-admin-should-stick-to-mines-closure-ibon/feed/0Duterte admin’s econ direction troubling, but peace talks may stir change?http://ibon.org/2017/01/duterte-admins-econ-direction-troubling-but-peace-talks-may-stir-change/
http://ibon.org/2017/01/duterte-admins-econ-direction-troubling-but-peace-talks-may-stir-change/#commentsWed, 18 Jan 2017 05:00:33 +0000http://ibon.org/?p=5995While the unorthodox Pres. Rodrigo Duterte gained popular support due to its pro-poor pronouncements and promise of change, research group IBON said that the neoliberal economic agenda prevails as Duterte’s economic managers and other dominant groups push big business-biased/free market-oriented policies over people-centered reforms.
Nevertheless, IBON also said that the ongoing peace negotiations between the Philippine government and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP), of which social and economic reforms and political and constitutional reforms are the next substantive agenda, remain an opportunity to push steps that can benefit the Filipino majority.
IBON conducted its 2016 yearend analysis of economic and political trends during the Duterte administration’s first six months In its briefing paper, the group noted the following as among the glaring socioeconomic challenges that persist:

Contracting agriculture.The fastest growing sectors wereconstruction and real estate followed by trade and manufacturing,but agriculture contracted. The share of agriculture in the economy has shrunk to 8.5%. The production sectors consisting of agriculture, manufacturing, construction and mining slightly declined to 38.5%, the smallest recorded shares in the country’s history.

Worsening inequality.The net worth of the 40 richest Filipinos grew by almost 14% between 2015 and 2016 and the profits of Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) by over 18%; real minimum wage in the National Capital Region (NCR), a proxy for workers’ wages, fell by almost 3% in the same period.

Deteriorating jobs. Two out of three employed (63%) or 24.4 million Filipinos are non-regular, agency- hired, informal sector, or unpaid family workers, meaning low-paying and insecure work with poor or no benefits. One of three (34.5%) rank and file workers are non-regular workers. Initial IBON re-estimates of labor force survey figures are over four million unemployed Filipinos and an unemployment rate of over 9%. Underemployed number 7.5 million with an 18.3% rate in 2016. Taken together there are 11.5 million who are without work or are still seeking more work

Widening wage gap. Daily NCR minimum wage remains at Php481. According to IBON estimates, this is barely half of the family living wage (Php1,119 as of 2016) or the amount needed by a family of six for their basic needs. The wage gap again widened from 55% (2015) to 57% (2016).

Prevalent poverty. Government reported a lower population poverty incidence of 21.6%, counting 21.9 million poor Filipinos for 2015, or 1.8 million less compared to 2012 figures. However, this employs a very low poverty threshold of just Php60 per person per day based on a conservative food threshold and an outdated estimation of non-food expenses, thus reflecting the situation only of Filipinos in extreme poverty. IBON estimates some 66 million poor Filipinos struggling to survive on around or even less than Php125 per day. IBON’s latest national opinion survey meanwhile showed seven of 10 Filipinos rating themselves ‘poor’.

Elusive right to education. . The additional Php8.3 billion allocated is short of being able to give free tuition to all 1.7 million students enrolled at all levels in State Universities and Colleges (SUCs), and does not cover other considerable expenses for registration and other pertinent fees. IBON estimates that an additional Php4.4 billion is needed to provide free tuition for all SUC students. The group also said that since the added budget depended on the discretion of lawmakers and the availability of funds, it may not last beyond 2017. The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) has even announced that not all SUC students will be covered.

Shallow ‘universal’ health coverage. While an additional Php3 billion was reportedly allocated to the Phililppine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) to ensure coverage for all Filipinos, the support value of PhilHealth remains at 50% while the balance of 50% is still paid out of pocket. Also, the poor and sick remain burdened with hospital expenses as 40% of the number of claims paid to indigent/ sponsored program beneficiaries still needed co-payments. Moreover, the no balance billing policy for indigents is only applicable to increasingly underfunded government hospitals.

People-centered reforms opposed. While additional support for national irrigation has been approved, the Duterte government’s economic directors are opposed to a moratorium on land use conversions, which further institutionalize land grabbing to the detriment of farmers. The economic managers have also been opposed to granting the Php2,000 pension to the elderly, arguing, among others, that it is anti-poor. Earlier, the Duterte administration clarified that by ending contractualization it meant prohibiting the practice of terminating workers before they assume regular status, thereby still allowing all other forms of contractualization where workers are denied the benefits naturally accorded to regulars.

Rich relieved, poor burdened further with tax reform package. The administration plans to fund its infrastructure expansion through a consistently regressive tax plan, which will relieve the richest and big corporations. But the poor will be further burdened through additional taxes on a wider range of goods such as fuel products, and increased value-added tax (VAT).

Unaddressed roots of “war on drugs”. While there have been 2,166 deaths of ‘drug personalities’ during police operations aside from at least 4,049 more victims of drug-relatedextrajdicial or vigilante-style killings, the socioeconomic roots of the drug problem remain largely unaddressed.

According to the group, the new government may appear different from its predecessors but there are very few indications that substantial change is underway. Under the same profit-driven, market-oriented economic policy framework, the country’s resources remain concentrated in the hands of the wealthiest families and corporations. Despite the President’s strong pronouncements, an independent foreign policy has not been forged; the country has not broken free from foreign powers with geopolitical interests in the Philippines whether it be, for instance, the US or China. Traditional politics prevail. Relatedly, the administration repeatedly dangles authoritarian measures, putting at risk assertions of democracy that are gaining ground.
Nevertheless, IBON said that while prospects for change are getting dimmer rather than brighter, it remains to be seen how the peace negotiations could still possibly effect initial people-centered reforms. It is an opportune time to challenge the administration to, beyond paper, step out of its neoliberal economic and undemocratic political tradition in the direction of crafting policies in the interest of the majority of poor and marginalized Filipinos, said the group.
]]>http://ibon.org/2017/01/duterte-admins-econ-direction-troubling-but-peace-talks-may-stir-change/rss/1Protect PH econony, drop Cha-cha, lawmakers toldhttp://ibon.org/2016/12/protect-ph-econony-drop-cha-cha-lawmakers-told/
http://ibon.org/2016/12/protect-ph-econony-drop-cha-cha-lawmakers-told/#respondWed, 14 Dec 2016 02:34:07 +0000http://ibon.org/?p=5903Protect PH economy, drop Cha-cha, lawmakers told
As the Duterte administration embarks on amending the highest law of the land, research group IBON called on legislators and government officials to stop moves to change the economic provisions of the 1987 Philippine Constitution. Not allowing Charter Change (Cha-cha) in this aspect can be a concrete effort towards a genuinely independent foreign economic policy, IBON said.
President Duterte recently issued Executive Order (EO) No. 10, which formed a group that would study how best to approach Cha-cha. The administration's bid for Cha-cha highlights a shift to a federal form of government.
Meanwhile, the Philippines has been under pressure by foreign chambers of commerce and past and present United States ambassadors to remove remaining obstacles to full foreign ownership of Philippine industries. This is for the country to qualify as a member of the US-led Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) multilateral free trade deal.
Last attempts at Cha-cha by Congress targeted removing limits to foreign ownership of the education, small and medium businesses, land and mass media sectors. According to IBON, pursuing this will prevent the Philippines from directing its wealth to usher the development of local industries and to provide the Filipinos' basic needs. Economic Cha-cha proponents assume that increasing foreign participation in these sectors will create jobs and alleviate poverty, but statistics have proven otherwise. While total foreign direct investments increased in the Philippines (US$1B in 2010, preliminary US$5.7B in 2014-2015), the number of overseas workers deployed daily exceeded the number of domestic jobs created in the same period.
IBON called on legislators to protect the Philippine economy, muster patriotism, and put a halt to economic Cha-cha maneuvers. According to IBON, more and more countries worldwide are protecting their economies by putting necessary restrictions to foreign entry to vital economic sectors to allow their own production to flourish and serve local needs. Internationally, the number of policies that open up economies up has been decreasing, while the number of protectionist policies has been increasing, notably by developed countries themselves.
IBON said that not pushing through with the economic Cha-cha will be a concrete bold step for the Philippines to assert an independent foreign policy. This pertains to relating with other countries on the basis of independently pursuing one's own people-centered, not pro-business nor pro-foreign, development, said the group.###(Artwork by Gibet Torres in Jose Diokno's A Nation for Our Children
]]>http://ibon.org/2016/12/protect-ph-econony-drop-cha-cha-lawmakers-told/rss/0Lumad evacuees’ return home signals rebuilding of alternative schoolshttp://ibon.org/2016/09/lumad-evacuees-return-home-signals-rebuilding-of-alternative-schools/
http://ibon.org/2016/09/lumad-evacuees-return-home-signals-rebuilding-of-alternative-schools/#respondWed, 07 Sep 2016 14:31:37 +0000http://ibon.org/?p=5685
The ​Educators' Forum for Development (EfD), a network of 100 schools nationwide advocating transformative education, commended the more than 2,000 Lumad evacuees on the reclaiming of their homes and ancestral land in Bgy. Diatagon, Lianga, Surigao del Sur. The group said that this also signifies initial steps towards the rebuilding of Lumad alternative schools and continuation of the education disrupted by attacks from military and paramilitary groups.
“The return to their homes and ancestral land is a testament to the unified strength and campaign of the Lumad people, people’s organizations and concerned groups and supporters. These organized efforts can now be directed towards not only rebuilding the communities but the alternative schools the Lumads worked so hard to construct and operate”, said EfD.
EfD noted that among the Lumad communities and schools under attack by government and paramilitary forces are those located in Lianga, Surigao del Sur, which has been targeted by large-scale mining corporations for its gold, coal, and chromite. The group reiterated its concern that the continuous harassment and killings against indigenous peoples has grossly affected the operation of community-built alternative schools and the education of indigenous children. The situation has escalated to the point that even educators are targeted, harassed and killed, said the group.
The return of the Lumad evacuees is in time with the first year commemoration of the Lianga massacre. Last September 1, 2015, Emerito “Emok” Samarca, school executive director of the Alternative Learning Center for Livelihood and Agricultural Development (ALCADEV), and Manobo leaders Dionel Campos and Datu Juvello Sinzo were killed by members of the Magahat-Bagani paramilitary group. The Lumad residents, and ALCADEV students and teachers were forced to evacuate, and their homes and school destroyed. The perpetrators remain at large, while troops of the 75th Infantry Battalion – Philippine Army encamped at Bgy. Diatagon in Lianga only recently pulled out of the community.
EfD urged the administration of Pres. Rodrigo R. Duterte to respect and support the Lumad evacuees in the rehabilitation of their communities and the alternative schools they have built. The Duterte government must also put a stop to military and paramilitary presence and attacks against all Lumad and indigenous people’s communities and schools, said EfD. ###]]>http://ibon.org/2016/09/lumad-evacuees-return-home-signals-rebuilding-of-alternative-schools/rss/0There is room for pro-people economics but 10-pt agenda concerning–IBONhttp://ibon.org/2016/07/there-is-room-for-pro-people-economics-but-10-pt-agenda-concerning-ibon/
http://ibon.org/2016/07/there-is-room-for-pro-people-economics-but-10-pt-agenda-concerning-ibon/#respondSat, 16 Jul 2016 10:00:02 +0000http://ibon.org/?p=5612"While there are sunny prospects, the 10-point agenda of neoliberal policies hangs over like a dark cloud," said research group IBON’s executive director Sonny Africa yesterday at its political and economic briefing.
In its 2016 Midyear Birdtalk held at the University of the Philippines, IBON welcomed the Duterte administration's opening of opportunities for pro-people measures to be pushed under its term. The group however also expressed concern that the government's 10-pt economic agenda still invokes the neoliberal framework and may extend the same socioeconomic woes experienced under the past administration.
IBON reviewed the Aquino administration's legacy which it described to be that of elite politics and economics. According to the group, Aquino continued and even advanced the same old neoliberal policies of past administrations, such as public private partnerships (PPPs) and enhanced trade and investment liberalization. Hyped rapid economic growth was exclusive, shallow, and slowing down. It did not contribute to long-term national development, resulted in worsening inequality, jobs situation and poverty, and further violated the country’s sovereignty, IBON said.
The group also discussed some of the new administration's pro-people pronouncements, which provide possibilities for measures that could directly benefit the people. The Duterte government stated that it would end contractualization, stop demolitions, provide free public education, give free healthcare to the poor, give free irrigation, and release the coco levy fund to farmers, among others. Duterte also appointed progressives to the agrarian reform, social welfare, labor and poverty departments, and has shown openness to pursue peace talks with the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP), and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
However, the group also said that the administration’s 10-point economic ​agenda does not repudiate and plans to continue neoliberal policies and free trade agreements that have kept the nation backward. This includes pursuing and fast-tracking PPPs, and opening up the country’s natural resources, labor and markets to greater foreign exploitation through Charter change and lifting foreign restrictions. The agenda also does not indicate plans to reverse decades of privatizing education, health, housing and other social services, and fails to outline a production sector-based domestic jobs creation thrust, IBON noted.
In conclusion, the group emphasized the need for various people's mobilizations to push for and advance national development and economic sovereignty. While supporting the Duterte administration’s pro-people pronouncements and initiatives, the mass movement can remain vigilant and continue to assert its demands for genuine social, economic and political change, said IBON.]]>http://ibon.org/2016/07/there-is-room-for-pro-people-economics-but-10-pt-agenda-concerning-ibon/rss/0